Apparatus for liquefying solidified honey



June 3, 1930. A. s. KUYKENDALL APPARATUS FOR LIQUEFYING SOLIDIFIED HONEYFiled June '7, 1927 LII Patented June 3, 1930 UNITED STATES ALECK G.KUYKENDALL, OF GRAND. VIEW, WASHINGTON APrARA'rUs FOR LIQUEFYINGsotrnrrrnn HONEY Application filedifune 7, 1927. ScrialNo. 197,087.

My invention relates to apparatus for' liquefying liquid which hassolidified, and it has particular reference, although not necessarily,to apparatus for liquefying honey which has solidified in cans in orderthat it may be removedv for retail distribution.

In apparatus of this characterasheretofore proposed, the cans aresubmerged in hotwater to liquefy the honey, and through the action ofthe hot Water the honey is discolored to the extent of greatly darkeningit. The quality of the honey is determined by its color, the lighter thehoney the finer the quality, hence, any process ofliquefying whichdarkens the honey lowers its market value.

It is the purpose of myinvention to provide an apparatus wherebyliquefaction of solidified honey in action can be effectedexpeditiously, economically, and without discoloration, thus maintainingits original color. H u

I will describe only one form of apparatus for liquefying solidifiedhoney embodying my invention, and Will then point out the nove featuresthereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a view showing inverticalongitudinal section an oven having therein the plurality of one form ofapparatus for liquefying honey embodying my inventiom Fig. 2 is aview-showing in top plan one of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1. r

Fig. 3 is a view showing the apparatus in side elevation. y

Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken on 4-4., Fig. 3. I I r Fig. 5 is 'afragmentary sectional view of one of the cans and breather pipesenibodied inthe apparatus. j Fig. 6 is a view showing the breather pipein end elevation.

Fig. 7 is a sectional viewof the line Y, the breather pipe taken on theline 7-7" of Fig; i Fig. 8 1s a fragmentary perspective view showing themeans for connecting the confronting of any two adjacent racks, thepartsthereof being'disassembled.

Similar reference characters refer to Sim-- ilar parts in each of theseveral views.

Referring specifically to the drawings, my invention in its presentembodiment comprises one or more racks designated generally as P), eachcomprising longitudinal rails 15 connected at intervals by transverserails 16, arranged in divergent pairs to support receptacles 17 ininclined position on the rack, so that the discharge orifices or spouts18 thereof are disposed lowermost to permit drainage of the liquidcontent of the receptacles. Each receptacle in the present instance isin the form of a rectangular can, the divergence ofthe transverse rails16 being such as to accommodate an co-act with one of the longitudinalrails 15, in supporting the can in inclined position, so that itsdischarge orifice will be disposed below the side rail as illustratedin'Fig. 3.

'The several racks R are supported for rolling movement by wheels 19,carried by the side rails 15, in order that the racks with the cans canbemoved into and out of an oven V prior and subsequent to the liquefying of the honey or other solidifiet liquids contained in the cansto facilitate hlOVGlTlGnll of the racks into and out of the oven. Thebottom of the oven is prwided with a track T, which extends beyond theopen end ofthe oven or that end normally closed by a door D. Heatingunits Hin the form of coils of pipes through which a suitable heatingmedium can be circulated are positioned within the oven, and the heatradiating therefrom is employed to melt and thus liquefy the-solified'honey contained in thecans. p

Theraclrs R are adapted to be handled in trains, a plurality of theracks being arranged in end to end relation and detachably connectedto-each other so that they may be handled as one and yet disconnectedfrom each other when desired. To this end the rails of each rack areformed with-terminal tongues and 21, positioned as illustrated in Fig.8, so as to co-act in locking the rail ends to those of adjacent racks,and to thereby provide a draft connect-ion between the racks.

As illustrated to advantage in Figs. 4 and 5, each can 17 is adapted tocontain a device which functions to promote drainage of the liquefiedhoney from the can, and to prevent the discharge orifice 18 frombecoming clogged by the residue solidified honey. In the presentinstance, this device comprises a breather pipe in the form ofanelongated tubular body 22, the upper end of which is cut andconstricted to provide a restricted entrance end 23, as clearly shown inFig. 6. The body 22 is perforated at intervals along its length, and astop linger 24 is formed adjacent to the lower end of the body forengagement with the wall of the orifice to maintain the pipe againstaccidental displacement from the can.

In practice, the breather pipe is extended into the can through thedischarge orifice, so that its upper end 23 is disposed above the bodyof liquefied honey, thereby admitting air to the can, and thus promotingthe drainage or flow'ot honey from the can. Perforations in the breathertube are likewise provided to admit air to the can, the honey drainingfrom the can around the breather tube and not through it as might beexpected. In the melting of honey within the can, there always remains asolidified core indicated at 25 in Figs. 4 and 5, and when the can istilted as illustrated, this core will gravitate and block the dischargeorifice and prevent the drainage of the honey from the can. By the useof the breather tube, that the proper drainage of honey can is assured.

In the operation of the apparatus, any number of racks within thecapacity oi the oven .V may be rolled into the latter, each rack havingstacked in inclined position thereon a plurality of cans 17. Byconnecting the racks in train formation and by virtue of the relativearrangement of the transverse rails 16, other cans than those directlysupported on the racks can be stacked upon the first cans as wellbetween the cans of adjacent racks as illustrated in Fig. 1.

By allowing the cans to remain within the oven a predetermined time, thesolidified honey contained therein is, reduced to a liquid with theexception of the usual remaining core 25 as previously described. Duringthe melting process the discharge orifices are closed by suitable caps,but following the removal of the cans from the the core 25 cannotblockthe orifice so from the cyen thecaps-are removed and the breatherpipes inserted, thereby admitting air to the cans and thus greatlyreducing the time required to effect complete drainage of honey from thecans.

In the process of melting the honey, a temperature of substantially 150Fehrenheit exists in the oven, and it is important to note that theheating units are not in actual contact with the cans and that a dryheat is produced, which it has been found in practice does not darken orotherwise discolor the honey in liquefying the latter. As a consequencethe original color, and hence quality, of the honey liquefied inaccordance with my process, is maintained.

Although -I have herein shown and described only one form of apparatusfor liquefying solidified honey embodying my invention, it is to beunderstood that various changes and modifications may be made hereinwithout departing from the spirit oi the invention and the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus for liquefying solidified honey, a breather pipe forpromoting drainage of liquids from a receptacle com prising an elongatedtubular, perforated and open ended body adapted to be extended through adischarge orifice of a receptacle supported in a position for drainingof its contents through its discharge orifice, and means by which thebody is adapted to be supported in the receptacleagainst displacementtherefrom and in a position wherein a portion of the body projects fromthe receptacle to form a spout for the purpose described.

2. In an apparatus for liquefying solidified honey, a breather pipe forpromoting drainage of liquids from a receptacle comprising an elongatedtubular, perforated and open ended body adapted to be extended through adischarge orifice of a receptacle supported in a position for drainingof its contents through its discharge orifice, and a lateral projectionon the body adjacent to one end thereof adapted to engage a wall of thereceptacle to support, the body in the latter with said one end of thebody projecting from the receptacle to form a spout for the purposedescribed.

3. In an apparatus for liquefying solidified honey, a breather pipeadapted to be extended through a discharge orifice of a liquidcontaining receptacle supported in a position for draining of itscontents through its discharge orifice, and means by which the breatherpipe is adapted to be supported against downward displacement from thereceptacle and in a position wherein an end of the breather pipeprojects from the discharge orifice of the receptacle to form a spoutfor the purpose described.

4 In an apparatus for liquefying solidil" 3 ill

